Clause 10 - Proceedings of licensing committee
Licensing Bill [Lords]
8:55 am
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
Amendments Nos. 82 and 83 deal with the power delegated to the Secretary of State under the clause, which may—I use that word judiciously—prevent the public from attending licensing hearings. Under current legislation, magistrates are the licensing authorities and the public are rightly allowed to attend the licensing proceedings, which ensures the openness and accountability of the system. The potential is there, through the instigation of the clause, for closed-door decisions.
The House of Lords Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform highlighted such matters as a cause of potential concern. Its recent report stated:
''Clause 9 enables regulations (subject to negative procedure) to make provisions about proceedings of licensing committees and their sub-committees. Matters such as public access and publicity for local authority committees are already provided for in primary legislation (e.g. Part VA of the Local Authority Act 1972). The House may wish to enquire what use might be made of this power as the regulations could not override primary legislations.''
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport responded by saying:
''Given the administrative nature of these matters and the fact that in many respects the proceedings of the licensing committees will be determined by local authorities' own standing orders, it appears sensible and appropriate for these matters to be left to secondary legislation, and for the negative resolution procedure to apply.''
The Government do not recognise the importance of such matters in their response to the Select Committee, especially in the light of their need to
provide the Secretary of State with broad powers to regulate the conduct of licensing committees. The Select Committee did not receive an adequate response about what use may be made of the Secretary of State's powers, given that the regulations are necessarily overridden by the primary legislation.
Why is the provision included in the Bill, when the powers delegated to the Minister by its inclusion cannot override the Local Government Act 1972 and other legislation? What use would such regulations be in that case?